Article of manufacture and method of forming the same



. set forth, which is durable, inexpensive and which 1 Patented UNITED STAT PATENT oFFicE Jacq es n. Amsel, mu on Hudson, rt. Y.

No Drawing. Application August 13, 19:5,

SerialNo. asses I This invention relates to an article of manufacture and a method of forming the same, and

is particularly concerned with-an article especiallyadapted for use as a sound reproduction record, the sound track of which is formed in a hardened lacquer surface.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a new article of the character has a surface of a type which lends itself readily to the formation thereon of a sound track which will faithfully reproduce a sound record.

Another important objectis to provide an article of manufacture adapted to receive a sound record which may be used to directly receive the record from a scribing instrument or which may receive the record by pressing from a metal stamp.

Another object is to provide an article which may be directly scribed with a sound track and which thereafter may be used directly for reproduction as a "play back record or to form a metal stamp from which similar records may be struck.

The object of the method employed is to provide a means and method of simply and economically forming an article having the desirable feature hereinbefore set forth.

Another object of the method is to provide a method of app yina a hardening liquid to base surfaces so as to produce a finished surface of greatly enhanced durability-fineness consistency and kindred qualities especially applicable to sound reproduction.

A further object of the method is toprovide a laminated lacquered sound recording surface of uniform" smooth and homogeneous characteristics.

Another object of the method is to provide a practical and inexpensive surface adapted to give durability and faithfulness of sound recording.

Numerous other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification.

In general terms, the article consists of a base, which may be of any suitable material ranging in characteristics from that of paper to hard metal such as steel, not exclusive of rubber, wax,

aluminum and the other present day materials from which sound records are not made. This base has upon it aseries of laminations of lacquer produced by the method herein set forth; and it has been found that by this method the laminated lacquer surface is particlflarly adapted for receiving sound records which are improved not only in their fidelity as to the original impression,- butin their ability to reproduce. over a long useful life and their ability to be used not only as play bac records for instantaneous recording but also as "master" records and as records formed from pressings from a metal stamp.

The method employed consists in applying to' the base, a series of separately applied lacquer coatings which are preferably. applied in conjunction with the rotary motion of the base so that centrifugal force acts-in spreading the lacquer' and insuring a uniform smooth homo-. geneous surface;

c In particular, as an illustration of one embodiment'of the invention, I use a thin, aluminum disk and apply thereto a series of lacquer coatings. The disk is first prepared by suitable smoothing operations, as by grinding and/or polishing and may be distinguished from such base members as heretofore used in'that no center hole isprovided in the disk, the-hole being a source of trouble in that bubbles may arise through the hole during the coating operation i I Y from as much as 1 to 3000 R.'P. M.

I use the term lacquer herein as it is used in the sound recording trade rather than as a technical term. The coating material may actually contain no lac whatsoever and I use this term to indicate flowing materials which have a drying quality, thus paints, oils, varnishes and other lacquers which have a drying quality are intended, no thought being to limit the invention to any specific material. In a preferred embodiment of my invention, I prefer to use a specific lacquer which forms the subject matter of a separate patent application filed July 14, 1936, Serial No. 90,488. 1

'While' the base disk is rotated at the desired speed, preferably on a horizontal plane, I apply thereto the lacquer by dropping the same from a receptacle above the plate onto the center of the plate and moving the receptacle radially from the centeras the material drops upon the plate. I preferably vary the speed of rotation of the disk and/or speed of travel of the lacquer container in 1 accordance withthe diameterof thediskatthe place where the lacquer is being applied. Thus, as the container moves outwardly, its movement isreducedsothatthelineartravel of thesurfaceisuniformfromthecentertotheperiphery of the disk. Furthermore, I prefer to retard the speed of the disk as the lacquer moves outwardly thereover so that the centrifugal force acting on thelacqueronthecenter ofthedlskisequal to the centrifugal force acted on the lacquer as it is applied further from the center of the disk. In the application of the lacquer tothe outer periphery of the disk. centrifugal force will drive some of the lacquer from the periphery and this may be received in an annular trough associated with the disk revolving apparatus.

Afterthediskiscoatedandpermittedtodry, a further application is similarly applied. The lacquer which I prefer to use'will normally dry in ten.minutes to an hour and a half, and the disk will then be ready for a second application. During the dryin operation, I prefer to keep the disk at ap roximately 160 1"., but in accordance withthelacquerusetlmayapplygreaterheat or none at all. I

'Ihenumberoflayersoflacquerappliedmay, of course, vary widelyrbut I prefer to use he tween three and twenty layers of lacquer each ofwhichmayrangefromone-half (55") tothree thousandths (.003") of an inch thick.- When the final layer is applied. and dried, the article isreadyforimmediaterecording.orforthe stampingthereonofasolmdrecordfromametal dieor stamp. InthepractiuJhavefoundthat arecordmadehythismethodis ofgreatlyimproved durability andhas improved qualities for receiving the sound record and/or for reproduc ing sound therefrom. A record also has the great advantage of being ready for immediate me after it isrmanufactured, and it is also practical for either the original recording or as a comrnacial record produced by a pressing operation.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the article and method referred to are lubiwt to wide variations, changes and modification! and full use of equivalents in the article or a method outlined are permitted without departure from the spirit or scope of the appended claims- Eaving set forth the nature of my invention. what'I claim is:

of disk, anddryingsaid coating.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1; W

repeating of the coating application and the drying step a sumcient number of times so that a laminated coating sumciently'thiek to receive sound wave indentures will he formed on the 

